Method of and apparatus for tanning hides



No. 623,563. Patented Apr. 25, I899. M. n. nonmauzz. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TANNING HIDES.

(Application filed. May 26, 1898.)

3 SheetsSheat I.

(No Model.)

WITNESSES TNE Noam: PETERS c0, FHOTO-UTHG WASHINGTON. u. c.

No. 623,563. Patented Apr. 25, I899. M. R. RODRIGUEZ.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TANNING HIDES.

(Application filed May 26, 1898.)

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2. 4

WITNESSES VENTOR ya W m: NORRIS PETERS CO.PHOTO L1THO,\VASHINGTON.D c

No. 623,563. Patented Apr. 25, I399.

M. R. RODRIGUEZ. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TANNING RIDES.

(Application filed May 26, 1898.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

W/TNESSES ,NVENTOH A TT'ORNEYJ' TN: no'nms vrrzns 0a.. moroufua. WASHINGTON, u. c.

MIGUEL RAMON RODRIGUEZ, OF VICTORIA, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM HOPKINS \VYLIE, OF VICTORIA COUNTY, TEXAS.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TANNING HIDES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 623,563, dated April 25, 1899.

Application filed May 26, 1898. SerialNo. 681,810. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MIGUEL RAMON ROD- RIGUEZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Victoria, in the county of Victoria and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of and Apparatus for Tanning Hides, of which the following is a full and complete specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the art of tanning hides; and the object thereof is to provide an improved method and apparatus for this purpose whereby any olassof leather from heavy sole-leather to light calf may be tanned in much less time and at much less expense than by any of the processes or apparatus now in use,a further object being to provide a method and apparatus for tanning hides whereby the chemical operation is shortened by means of improved mechanical devices.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the improved apparatus which I employ; Fig. 2, a

- sectional side view of a part of said apparatus; Fig. 3, a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4:, a section 011 the line at 4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 0, a section of one of the heads of a tank, which forms a part of the said apparatus and showing a testing-tube mounted therein.

In the drawings forming part of this specification the separate parts of my improvement are designated by the same letters and numerals of reference in each of the views, and in the practice of my invention I provide two similar cylindrical tanks A and B,which are preferably placed in parallel position, and the ends of these tanks are shown in Fig. 1, one of the same being in section. Each of these tanks is provided with a drum (1, and each of said drums is provided with a watersupply pipe a and an air-escape pipe (L The bottom of each tank is also provided with an open gratework 00, preferably composed of wood or any other suitable material, beneath which are placed steam-coils 31, and each tank is also lined, as shown at a with oak, and

connected with or suspended from the top thereof are hooks 4, with which the hides 5 may be connected. I also employ a hydropneumatic pump 6, which is preferably oblong and substantially rectangular in form, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and which is provided near the top thereof with a horizontal partition-plate (5 above which is a chamber 6, and below the partition-plate 6 is a similar partition-plate 7 whereby a horizontal chamber 8" is formed, and this chamber 8 communicates with a trap -chamber 9, formed by a casing which is exterior to the casing of the pump-cylinders E, to be described hereinafter. The partition-plate (5 is provided with a plurality of ports or passages vl3, arranged in horizontal and transverse rows, respectively, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and these ports or passages are closed by valves 1), which open upwardly and which may be of any desired form and construction, and in communication with the chamber 6 in the upper portion of the hydropneumatic pump is a pump-pipe D. I also provide a steam-cylinder O, having a steam-chest O which is provided with steam supply and exhaust pipes 23 and 24, and the cylinder 0 and steam-chest O are. of the usual form, and mounted in the cylinder O is the usual piston, provided with a piston-rod G which carries a cross-head O and longitudinal guides or guide-rods O are provided for said crosshead, and the valve of the steam-chest G which is not shown, is operated by a valverod 5, having collars 5 and which is operated by the cross-head C Within the body portion of the dydropneumatic pump-casing are three parallel pumpcylinders E, each of which is provided with a piston E with each of which is connected a piston-rod E and the rodsE are connected with the cross-head O of the piston-rod O Adjacent to the hydropneumatic pump and opposite the steam-cylinder O is an upright air-tank 9, which is connected with the pumpcylinders E by three corresponding verticallyarranged trap-tubes 12, which maybe formed integrally, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, or separately, and these tubes or cylinders 12 are in communication with the pump-cylinders by means of ports or passages f, each of which is controlled by a spring-operated valve f which opens inwardly, and the said traptubes 12 are in communication with the tank 2 by means of ports or passages G, each of which is provided with a valve 11, operated by a valve-rod 11, which passes through the outer wall of the tank 9.

The pump-cylinders E are in communication with the trap-chamber 9 by means of tubes 0, and the entrance to each of these pipes within the trap-chamber is controlled by an automatic valve 6 as shown in Fig. 3, and the pump-cylinders E are thus placed in communication with the pipe D through the chamber ti, the chamber 8, and the trapchamber fl, and the trap-tubes .12 are each provided with a side pipe f, each of which is controlled by a valve Z, having a stem Z The side pipes f and their respective valves Z are used to pump air to the trap-tubes 12 when desired, as will be explained hereinafter in describing the operation of the pump.

Each of the cylindrical tanks A and 13 is provided with a gage 2S, and also with a tester ll, which will be hereinafter described. Said tanks are also connected by a pipe 26, which is in communication with the tank 0 by means of a pipe 26, in which is placed a valve 26", and the pipe 26 is provided at each side of the pipe 26 with a valve 26, and said tanks are also placed in communication by means of a pipe 7, having a valve 7.

The pipes 26 and 7 communicate with the bottoms of the tanks A and B, and a pipe 10 forms a communication between the drums (L of said tanks A and 13 and the pipe 16, which communicates with the upper end of the tank 9 and which is provided with a valve 13, and the com mu nications of the pipe 26 and the pipe 16 with the tank .2 are each controlled by an automatic valve 10, which opens inwardly into said tank.

The pipe D, which communicates with the upper portion of the hydropneumatic pump, is provided with a tubular cross-head S, with which a vertical pipe 20 and two horizontal pipes 22 communicate, and the horizontal and vertical pipes 22 communicate with the drums (t of the tanks A and 13 and are intended to convey compressed air in the operation of the apparatus, as hereinafter described, and the pipe 20 is used as an air-discharge pipe.

Each of the pipes 22 is provided with a gage 28, by which the pressure of the air in the tanks A and B may be determined, and the right-hand pipe 22 is provided with a valve 18 and the left-hand pipe with a valve 19, and the central pipe 20 is provided with a valve 27, and in connection with the lower end of the pipe 20, near the cross-head 8, is a pipe 21, in which is placed a valve 21, and the pipe 21 is intended as a water-discharge pipe.

In the drawings forming part of this specification the hyd ropneumatic pu mp and steamcylinder and the air-tank 9 are supported on a base .1, and said parts are arranged between the tanks A and B; but this arrangement is not absolutely essential and any desired modification thereof may be employed. The tanks A and B may be of any desired length and any preferred capacity.

The operation of the apparatus is substantially as follows: Each of the tanks'A and 1- is provided with a manhole M, through which access thereto may be had for the purpose of placing the hides therein and for cleaning the tanks when necessary, and the said hides having been cleaned of the hair and the flesh by the usual or any preferred means or process are then hungin thetank A. The said tank is then closed and filled with fresh water through the pipe a and at the same time that the tank is being filled With water the air therein is forced therefrom through the pipe to. This operation is to facilitate the next step in the process, which consists in producing a vacuum in said tank, and after the tank is filled with water the pipes a and a are closed and the water is pumped out through the pipe 26, the trap-pipes 12, and the pipes D and 21, and for this purpose the valve 11 of the central trap-pipe 12 will be opened and the upper and lower valves Z will be open, so that two of the pump-cylinders will be receiving air from the outside while the central cylinder will be pumping the water from the tank A through the pipes 26 and 21. \Vhen the water is entirely exhausted from said tank, the corresponding valve in the pipe 26 and the valves 18 and 19 and the valve 21 in the pipe 21 will be closed, and the valve 17 in the pipes 16 and the middle valve 11 will be opened, and the pump will be kept in operation until the barometer 29 indicates that the vacuum in the tank is complete, or nearly so. If in this operation it is found that the pump works too hard, one of the valves Z may be opened and one or more of the corresponding valves 11 will be closed, so that one or more of the pump-cylinders will be operated. After the vacuum has been produced the water in thehides is evaporated, which is accomplished by raising the temperature in the tank to about 90 by means of steam admitted through the steam-coil 31. The pump must be kept running while the evaporation of the water is taking place and continuously until the tanning material is admitted, and the last step of the process consists in forcing the tanning acid or material into the tank. This tanning material during the operation hereinbefore described is kept in the tank B in quantity sufficient to fill the tank A, and the strength of the tanning acid or material is regulated to suit the quality of leather desired. The tan'ning material is forced into the tank A by the pump by opening the valve in the pipe 7 and the valve in the pipe a of tank 13, and when the tank A is filled the valve in the pipe 16 will be closed and the valve 19 is opened, so as to compress air into the tank ICO IIO

A to a pressure of about one hundred pounds to the square inch, and when compressing air into the tank A the valve 11 will be closed and the valves Z will be opened. The entire operation will require about thirty-eight hours, and after this time the tanning material is removed through a Waste-pipe (not shown) and the leather taken out through the manhole and dressed in the usual or any preferred manner.

In Fig. 6 of the drawings I have shown a testing device which is adapted to be inserted into and through a corresponding hole formed in the head of the tank or tanks, and this tester consists of a tube H, the outer end of which is screw-threaded and adapted to engage with a screw-threaded collar h, secured to the head of the tank, and said tube isprovided at its inner end with a collar 71 to prevent its entire withdrawal, and formed in one side thereof is a notch or recess a and a small piece of leather may be placed therein, and the said tester may be drawn out or partially so whenever desired, so as to examine said piece of leather, and thus determine the condition of the leather in the tank which is being tanned.

The apparatus which I employ for carrying out my improved process of tanning is simple in construction andoperation and well adapted to accomplish the result for which it is intended; butitwill be apparent that many changes in and modifications of the construction and arrangement of the various parts of said apparatus maybe made without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my, invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The herein-described process for tanning hides, which consists in first subjecting cleaned hides to a water-bath, then evaporating the water in the hides in cacao by means of the application of heat, then subjecting the hides to a bath of tanning material or acid, then removing the hides from said tanning material or acid for the purpose of dressing them, substantially as shown and described.

2. The herein-described apparatus for tanning hides, comprising two main tanks or receptacles, each of which is provided with a steam-coil, two pipes connecting the bottoms of said tanks or receptacles, a pump, an airtank adjacent to said pump, and in communication with one. of said pipes, other pipes forming communications between said main tanks or receptacles and the upper end of said air-tank, a pump-pipe communicating with said pump, pipes forming a communication between said last-named pipe and said main tanks or receptacles, a discharge-pipe communicating with said pump pipe, and said air-tank and pump being in comm unication, substantially as shown and described.

3. The herein-described apparatus for tanning hides,comprising two similar main tanks, each of which is provided with a grating in the bottom thereof, and a steam-coil thereunder, two pipes forming separate com munications between the bottoms of said main tanks, an air-tank in communication with one of said pipes, at its lower end, otherpipes forming a communication between said main tanks and said air-tank, a pump and pumppipe communicating with the top thereof, pipes forming a communication between said pump-pipe and said main tanks, a dischargepipe connected with said pump-pipe'and provided with a branch pipe, and connecting.- pipes forming a communication between said air-tank and said pump, said connecting-pipes being provided with branch pipes, substantially as shown and described.

4. In an apparatus for tanning hides, constructed as herein described, an air-tank, a pump mounted adjacent thereto, and provided with a plurality of cylinders, a plu rality of trap-pipes forming a communication between said air-tank, and the cylinders of the pumps, automatic valves controlling the communication between said trap-pipes and the cylinders of the pump, hand-operated valves controlling the communication between said trap-pipes and the air-tank, said pump being provided with a chamber in the top thereof, a pump pipe communicating therewith, and a supplemental chamber below said first-named chamber, ports or passages forminga communication between said chambers and controlled by automatic valves, and a trap-chamber at one side of said pump, said trap-chamber being in communication with the supplemental chamber in the top of the pump and with each of the pump-cylinders, substantially as shown and described.

5. In an apparatus for tanning hides, the combination with two main tanks A and B, of pipes 7 and 26 forming separate communications between the bottoms of the said tanks, a pump 6, an air-tank 9, in communication with the'pump-pipe 26, and the pipes 16 form- IIO inga communication between said main tanks a pump 6, an air-tank 9, in communication with the pump-pipe 26, and the pipes 16 forming a communication bet-ween said main tanks and the upper end of said air-tank, a pipe D communicating with said pumps, separate pipes 22 forming a communication between said pipe D and said main tanks, a discharge- I In testimony that I claim the foregoing as pipe communicating with said pipe, D, and myinventionI have signed my name, in pres- .0 provided with a branch pipe, said pump beenee of the subscribing witnesses, this 17th ing also provided with a trap, and being in day of May, 1898.

5 communication with said air-tank, and said MIGUEL RAMON RODRIGUEZ.

main tanks being provided each with an air- Witnesses: discharge pipe and a water-supply pipe, sub ST. CLAIR G. REED,

stantially as shown and described. R. L. HERBERT. 

